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Derrick Rose remains sweet on sweets

The contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Chicago Bulls. All opinions expressed by Sam Smith are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of the Chicago Bulls or their Basketball Operations staff, parent company, partners, or sponsors. His sources are not known to the Bulls and he has no special access to information beyond the access and privileges that go along with being an NBA accredited member of the media.

It may have been a sign that preseason was too long or that Derrick Rose still is a kid at heart. But at the end of the last full Bulls practice before the opening of the 2010-11 season Tuesday, Rose considered just how he was going to handle Halloween Sunday.

“My mom or girlfriend is probably going to have to hand out (the candy),” Rose said with a laugh. “If it were up to me, I’d keep it all.”

Rose, as we know, has a notorious sweet tooth and even a Skittles machine in his house compliments of the company after Rose mentioned the snack as a favorite, though Rose did lament that it doesn’t necessarily help him having it in his house.

Rose has a private chef now and has improved his eating habits, which often is overlooked among young players, and he said he’s given up the fast food restaurants that were favorites.

But not the candy. No, never the candy.

“The candy and stuff is hard (for me) to get away from,” Rose conceded. “I’ll be having binges where I eat tons of candy. I’ll go two weeks without eating any and then in one day I’ll go through two pounds.”

That’s right, kids, don’t try this at home unless you, too, are a super athlete and NBA All-Star with a World Championships gold medal.

No chocolate, Rose says, and the sugar by now is no issue as he says he’ll eat a big bag or box of candy right before bed sometimes and be sleeping within seconds.

Rose was truly blessed with a family who took care and looked out for him being raised in a tough area, and he said it was torture for him not being able to eat his Halloween candy until he got it home so his mother could look through it to determine of it was safe.

About Sam Smith

Smith covered the Bulls and the NBA for the Chicago Tribune for 25 years. He is the author of the best selling The Jordan Rules, which was top ten on the New York Times Bestseller List for three months. He is also the author of Second Coming: The Strange Odyssey of Michael Jordan and co-author of the Total Basketball Encyclopedia. Smith served as president of the Professional Basketball Writers Association for four terms, a feat no one else has accomplished. He has also served on committees for the NBA and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. In 2012, Smith was honored by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame with its Curt Gowdy Media Award.